Gateway for long-anticipated college campus is underway

Construction work officially kicked off this week on University Way — one of the major thoroughfares for a master-planned project called Verano.

The road will serve as the main boulevard off of Loop 410 South that feeds in to one of the major elements of Verano: The new Texas A&M University campus.

The start of construction on University Way marks a major step forward in the development of the long-awaited Texas A&M campus, says Paul Basaldua, director of business development for locally based civil construction firm Yantis Co. — which was awarded the contract to build the thoroughfare.

The road work, adds Basaldua, also heralds the start of the larger Verano community — which will encompass 2,700 acres of land along South Loop 410 bordered by Pleasanton Road and South Zarzamora Street.

As previously reported by the Business Journal, Verano is one of the latest projects for Austin-based town-planning firm Gateway Planning Group. Gateway President Scott Polikov, who spoke with the Business Journal this past summer about Verano, pointed out that the project will feature a mix of high- and low-density housing, a town center, commercial development, a sports complex and a retirement facility — as well as the university campus.

Polikov also noted in the previous story that Verano is proof that the City South initiative, which was approved by the City Council in 2002, “is getting legs.”

Smile!

Anybody hungry?

Carpinteria, Calif.-based CKE Restaurants Inc. recently opened a new Carl’s Jr. restaurant — at 2639 NE Loop 410, just off the Loop 410/Perrin Beitel Road intersection in Northeast San Antonio.

This is store number three for the hamburger chain. The inaugural restaurant opened this past September at FM 78 and Rittiman Road on the city’s East Side. The following month, store number two opened at 13980 Nacogdoches Road — also in Northeast San Antonio.

That leaves at least 17 more stores to go.

Over the next four to five years, CKE Restaurants plans to open at least 20 more Carl’s Jr. stores in greater San Antonio, according to Andrew F. Puzder, president and CEO of CKE Restaurants.

Plans call for the bulk of these restaurants to be owned and operated by CKE, says Puzder, who adds that the company is also making inroads into the Austin market. To date, the Capitol City also boasts three Carl’s Jr. stores.

The location may still be a moving target, but Buxton knows exactly what elements a Carl’s Jr. site must have.

“We want access to plenty of people,” he says. “We want to be close to where people live, work and shop — to capture people as they’re going about their daily affairs.”

Visibility — not only for the building itself but for the big yellow smiling star that is the restaurant’s logo — is also key, Buxton adds. “We’re teaching people that the Carl’s Jr. happy face sign means a good hamburger,” he says.

And San Antonians are hungry for a good burger, note Puzder and Buxton.

“San Antonio is friendly to fast food,” Buxton says. “Our competition is doing well there. And if our competitors are doing well there, then we’ll probably do well.”

The fact that Carl’s Jr. is all about serving up a fulfilling burger helps too, Buxton adds.

“Texans like hearty meals,” he says. “Our product resonates with the culture.”

In other Carl’s Jr. news, CKE Restaurants has inked a franchise development agreement with Star Foods Investors Group. The deal calls for Star Foods to open over the next nine years a total of 72 Carl’s Jr. restaurants in the Dallas and Houston markets — 32 in Dallas and 40 stores in the Houston area.

Cencor Solutions

The Weitzman Group and Cencor Realty Services have formed a new venture: Cencor Solutions.

Cencor Solutions will hone in on what executives call challenged retail properties — bringing the firm’s expertise in real estate brokerage and property management to bear in turning these centers around for their owners.

Cencor and Weitzman are Dallas-based firms. Cencor is a retail commercial management and development firm. Weitzman is the brokerage arm of Cencor.

Having opened its doors in 1989 — during what Herb Weitzman calls the worst downturn of the Texas real estate market — Weitzman and Cencor know a lot about finding opportunities in a down market.

“We learned back then how to find opportunities ... by combining strategies that focus on the basics, while employing tactics different from those employed in more typical times,” says Weitzman, who is the chairman and CEO of Weitzman and Cencor. “We are ready to put those lessons learned to work now.”